37days of Activism
You wanted to know what role you would have played in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s? Now’s your time to find out. You were shocked by the outcome of the U.S. Presidential election, and the aftermath of racial violence. You didn’t know this kind of racism still existed …
Thanksgiving dinner dialogue. Are you ready for it?
Preparing For Thanksgiving With People Whose Viewpoints Are Not Like Your Own Important: The group, “Stand up for Racial Justice” is committed to helping you over your Thanksgiving meal. Go here for info on how to access the resources they are committing to helping you, and check out the text …
simple action saturday : say “Yes, let’s!”
"Come over around six," Lisa said. David and I had just finished working with an amazing group of educators in Hastings, Nebraska, for two days. Lisa was one of them, the organizer of the event. "Around six, and we'll have some dinner with a few friends." We went back to …
A is for advocate
We fight for men and women whose poetry is not yet written. –Robert Gould Shaw, abolitionist In 2008, I will be a better advocate for those who need—and want—my advocacy. Long ago on a faraway planet, I once worked in an organization where I sat through a management meeting every …
B is for “be FOR something”
There is no virtue in being uncritical nor is it a habit to which the young are given. But criticism is only the burying beetle that gets rid of what is dead, and, since the world lives by creative and constructive forces, and not by negation and destruction, it is …
H is for human rights
Most people, no doubt, when they espouse human rights, make their own mental reservations about the proper application of the word ‘human.’ –Suzanne LaFollette In 2008, I will fight for the rights of human beings I see being dismissed and excluded and not listened to. And killed for who they …
Fund your own revolution
“The American Revolution was not financed with matching grants from the Crown.” – David Bayles and Ted Orland, Art and Fear Quick. Look around your office or workspace. Do you have a clock there? Do you have a visitor chair—a chair where a visitor could sit, should one suddenly appear …
Replace “they” with “we” with “I”
We all believe in equality, as long as it is equality with our superiors. What is the tipping point? I’ve long been fascinated by the fact that our Social Contract works—that people stop at four-way stop signs and allow the person to their right to move first, creating a sweet …
Don’t stop to wave, you’ll drown
“Why are women immobile? Because so many feel like they’re waiting for someone to say, “You’re good, you’re pretty, I give you permission.” –Eve Ensler This week, I watched a videotape of Eve Ensler speaking at the 2004 Omega Institute “Women in Power” conference. Ensler is a playwright most famous …
Be an effective ally for LGBT people
Read this if you’re interested in being a more effective advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. (www.soaw.org/new/ article.php?id=634) These are some guidelines for people wanting to be allies for LGBT people. In today’s world, LGBT issues are being discussed more than ever before. The discussions taking place in …
